“Lent is not about endless repetition of the fact that we are sinners.Instead, it offers us over and over the chance to see the beauty of life with God, a beauty that has been obscured by a multitude of compromises. Lent is a quieting of the soul and a lessening of the distractions so we can again hear the voice of God”
Esau McCaulley
I shared that quote last week. As we start the second full week of Lent, are there ways that God is showing you how beautiful life with Him can be? Is He bringing to mind any “compromises” that you need to confess?
In my Ash Wednesday reflection, I mentioned the anger and grief I’ve been navigating. As I continue more diligently seeking the work of the Spirit in my life, I’m realizing that anger becomes an easy default for me. Perhaps because it feels more empowering than sorrow or grief. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not walking around constantly angry. I’ve just noticed that I get there more quickly than I used to. Then, I have a tendency to feed it. God seems to be inviting me to consider how I’m part of the problem. Yes, what I’m navigating is challenging. But are there ways that I’m making it worse? How are my choices drawing me away from God?
That awareness and those questions help me realize how dependent I am on God. And this week’s contemporary version of this Sunday’s collect (prayer) from the Book of Common Prayer: speaks powerfully to that need:
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious
to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them
again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and
hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ
your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Psalm reading for today is from Psalm 16.
5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
Ps 16:5-11
you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
I am praying these verses today, even though it doesn’t necessarily feel like the “boundary lines have fallen . . . in pleasant places.” But I trust God. I trust His plan and will and way. Because of that trust, “I will praise the Lord, who counsels me” and “keep my eyes” on Him.
I am praying that God is working in your life right now as well. I’d love to hear your stories about what He is doing and how I can be praying for you!
If you’d like to receive an email update for future videos, blog posts, and Scriptures for prayer you can subscribe below or in the sidebar on the right.
Image by Gini George from Pixabay
© 2019-2024 Jennifer Brown Jones
Life Beyond #Blessed 